The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio Audiobook By Hubert Wolf cover art

The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio

The True Story of a Convent in Scandal

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio

By: Hubert Wolf
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In 1858 a German princess who had been recently inducted into the convent of Sant'Ambrogio in Rome wrote a frantic letter to her cousin, a confidant of the Pope, claiming that she was being abused and that she feared for her life. What the subsequent investigation by the Church's Inquisition uncovered were the extraordinary secrets of Sant'Ambrogio and the illicit behavior of the convent's beautiful, young mistress, Maria Luisa. Having convinced those under her charge that she was having regular visions and heavenly visitations, Maria Luisa began to lead and coerce her novices into lesbian initiation rites and heresies. She entered into a highly eroticized relationship with a young theologian known as Padre Peters, urging him to dispense upon her, in the privacy and sanctity of the confessional box, what the two of them referred to as the "special blessing".

What emerges through the fog of centuries is a sex scandal of ecclesiastical significance, skillfully brought to light and vividly reconstructed in scholarly detail. Offering a broad historical background on female mystics and the cult of the Virgin Mary, and drawing on written testimony and original documents, Hubert Wolf tells the incredible story of how one woman was able to perpetrate deception, heresy, seduction, and murder in the heart of the Church itself.

©2013 Verlag C. H. Beck oHG (P)2015 Tantor
19th Century Catholicism Church & Church Leadership History Italy Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts Theology Women Pope
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"This sordid tale of sexual indecency, false saints, and murder within a 19th-century convent in Rome has all the trappings of a good thriller." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

good. interesting.

it goes on for quite a bit. If you're into history, you'll really like it. But the names and places are a bit tricky to follow, so you must focus on the info. it is nice and scandalous though ;)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unbelievable!

If someone approached me with a script that included a lesbian/bisexual predatory nun on a mission to fool everyone in the church hierarchy that she was a living saint, while trying to poison those who doubted her holiness, I would have said “Seriously? Don’t you think thats a bit over the top?”
But it’s a true story from the 1860-70s that is just now coming to light. The author has clearly done his homework with records that come from the Vatican itself. The research is deep and academic, the characters as numerous as a Russian novel, but I could not put it down.
My only complaint is that as an audio book, it was sometimes hard to understand the latin, Italian and German words used. The narrator, while decent with all 3 languages, sometimes broke sentences up at odd places, I assume, to take a breath. Still a very worthwhile read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

OMG so boring

Even as a religious scholar (studied at Harvard Div), I was expecting a far less narrative. This puts me to sleep within 30 minutes every time I try to listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

So boring.

I couldn't get through much without giving up. I appreciate many genres, including nonfiction and history generally, but this is unbearable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!